When Jesus knew that the Pharisees heard He was making and baptizing more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were), He left Judea and went again to Galilee. He had to travel through Samaria, so He came to a town of Samaria called Sychar near the property that Jacob had given his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, worn out from His journey, sat down at the well. It was about six in the evening.
A woman of Samaria came to draw water.
"Give Me a drink," Jesus said to her, for His disciples had gone into town to buy food.
"How is it that You, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman? " she asked Him. For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.
Jesus answered, "If you knew the gift of God, and who is saying to you, ‘Give Me a drink,' you would ask Him, and He would give you living water." (John 4:1-10, HCSB)

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The gospel of John reveals to us who Jesus is—his purpose and character. In the very first chapter, John tells us He’s going to show us the God who put on flesh and came to live among us.  Jesus is in Samaria, a place where Jews at that time would not want to go. Jews at the time had a hatred toward Samaritans because they were not pure.  Jesus was tired. He was human and needed rest and water! 

Jesus takes whatever route necessary to get to you.

• John 4 says that Jesus “had to travel through Samaria,” but there was animosity between the Jewish and Samaritan people so many Jews would travel around the region rather than through.
• Jesus steps over social barriers to meet this woman and bring the living water to her.
• What are the reasons you believe that Jesus can’t get to you?
• The good news of the gospel is that God pushes past the things that would “stop” the woman from having an encounter. 
• Jesus tells the Samaritan woman that “everyone who drinks if this water will be thirsty again.” What places are you seeking to fill your identities? What sources leave you thirstier than before?
• When you discover the Fount, you realize that every other source falls short.

For Jesus to become our Fount, we have to lay down our other sources.

“I don't have a husband," she answered.
"You have correctly said, ‘I don't have a husband,' " Jesus said.   "For you've had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true." (John 4:17-18, HCSB)

• If you haven’t experienced what you need to be healed from, is it because you’re running from it?
• Jesus is so good that He addresses what needs to be healed instead of letting the woman hide.
• When confronted with her past, the woman replies with a question about theology. Even now, we do this too because it’s easier to talk about a sermon than your own sin. 
• We would rather waste energy than use it to bring our sin and issues to the cross. 
• A gracious God is honest with us but says, “I am still your living water.”
• Jesus calls us to worship in Spirit and in truth. Worship isn’t real unless you talk about the truth of your life. 
• The way you worship God has to be authentically connected to what’s actually going on in your world.
• The people in this time would have only known worship as a form of sacrifice.
• Romans 12 says to “present your bodies as a living sacrifice.” Now, the way that you worship is in light and truth of the cross.

‍Those who find the Fount can’t help but become a fount for others!

• The woman, an outcast, came to the well at the worst time of the day, but by the end of the story, she runs back to a town where she was ridiculed to tell them of a man who told her all that she’s done. 
• She tells them, “I couldn’t hide anything from Him, but he healed everything in me.” 
• How did Jesus do this? By grace through faith. 
• Jesus tells us in this passage that the only thing we have to do to become a Fount is declare, “God, I am willing to talk about my story and how you’ve moved in my life..”

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Dinner Party Questions

1. What places are you seeking to fill your identity?
2. Are there areas of your life that you are hiding from God and community? How can confession play a part in your rhythm as a believer?
3. How do you see the living water flowing through your life for others? How can your story be a witness for God’s goodness?